,----[ Quote ]
| Although Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) executives continue to criticize Office
| competitors such as OpenOffice.org, Sun's StarOffice, and Google Docs as
| inadequate for most users' needs, the company is not beyond changing
| directions when it sees that the herd is going against it.
|
| That includes, according to a third-party firm that claims to have been
| briefed, upcoming software licensing changes that will let companies stream
| Microsoft's Office applications to users' desktops as different parts of the
| programs are needed.
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Sales of Microsoft office fell in the last quarter. Profits sank 11% and sales
of Windows fell 24%. Expect the same in the next quarters, unless Microsoft
can turn the tables.

Recent:

Microsoft earnings post-mortem: The cash cows quiver

,----[ Quote ]
| I can’t help but wonder if the lackluster Windows/Office results also can be
| attributed to Microsoft brass’s complete and crazy obsession with Google (and
| taking over Yahoo) has resulted in no one minding the Windows store. Kevin
| Johnson, the head of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services division seems to be so
| laser-focused on the online-ad business these days that he almost seems to
| have forgotten Microsoft is still in the software business, too.
|
| Microsoft execs’ claims about walking away from the Yahoo deal are nothing
| more than bluster. A protracted hostile takeover bid is just going to
| distract not just employees in Microsoft’s online services business, but
| company management, too. It’s not a pretty picture.
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